Neverland: the Darkness
by blacksmokeangel
Summary: Elizabeth Stevens is a descendant of Wendy Darling and like all Darling girls, she's going to be taken to Neverland by Peter Pan. But the story is different this time. Peter Pan is growing up, Neverland is dying, Captain Hook isn't quite a codfish anymore, and Eliza has a haunting past that has her loyalties split between the arch nemeses. (Rates M just in case)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Prom**

The girl considered her reflection in the mirror for the tenth time in the past half hour. She was, undeniably, stunning. Her gray-blue eyes were ethereally bright with the silver and blue eye shadow, and perfectly outlined in eyeliner. Her eyelashes were gorgeously long, even without the mascara, but now they were so long that if she opened her eyes just slightly wider than normal, she could touch her eyebrow line without a problem.

Her pale complexion was smooth and made just slightly pinker with the help of blush. Her reddish brown hair fell around her in springy, hair sprayed curls, a few front strands pinned back with a jeweled hair clip. Her lips were glossed over in a luscious shade of pink and turned down slightly as she fretted over her makeup. Was it good? Was it right? Was it all even?

"You look hideous," someone said behind her.

The girl watched, amused, as her reflection made a face at the person behind her.

"Well thank you, Ty. You're just so sweet sometimes…"

She watched her brother's reaction in the mirror as he rolled his eyes at his older sister.

"Don't be so stupid, Liz, you look amazing," he said.

Tyler and Elizabeth Stevens were an inseparable pair from Tyler's complicated birth. Their mother had died while bringing Tyler into the world, but Elizabeth had never blamed him for it. Instead, she'd always considered him to be lucky that he had survived and had taken an oath, even before her mother made her, to always protect her little brother.

Of course, sometimes that was easier said than done. Their father had tried to hold out for them, he really had. But he'd turned into a drinker and by the time Elizabeth had turned ten, he was basically useless. That was before the beatings started. Elizabeth had taken the brunt of the abuse, of course, but only by protecting Tyler. Unlike her, their father placed every bit of the blame for his wife's death on Tyler.

It was only a year ago that they finally got away from him. At times, the old breaks would feel new, the long since faded bruises fresh, the splits and cuts still bleeding. Other times, it felt miles and miles away. Tonight, it was the opposite for them. Tyler was cringing around every corner, but Elizabeth was bright and calm and excited for the night.

"Are you sure?" she asked, "Everything looks okay?"

"Yes," he said with exaggerated irritation.

It was beyond him how she couldn't see her own beauty. He'd seen pictures of their mother and he disagreed that the two were identical-his sister was much prettier. Of course, he'd never say that to her face, or in so many words. But it was at a time like this that she understood what he meant.

"Well good, I didn't want to do it all over again anyway," she answered, turning around and hugging her brother.

To him, she smelled strange with all the products she'd used to get ready, but it wasn't offensive. It was just different.

Elizabeth frowned when she noticed how warm he was.

"You should be resting, you're sick," she said, surveying his flushed cheeks.

He'd been sick for three days already and he only seemed to be getting worse. That morning, his temperature had been 102. Later on it had dropped to a slightly cooler 100, but that wasn't much better and he'd managed to maintain it throughout the day.

"You're going to be late," Tyler threatened when he got tired of her fussing.

She pulled away and gave him a gentle shove out of the bathroom.

"Then go so that I can get dressed," she told him.

He obliged, sitting on her bed and turning on the TV. She closed the door and slipped out of her baggy basketball shorts and tank top. Her dress hung on a hanger by the door and she stared in the light. It was a gorgeous shade of grayish silver, with a sweetheart corseted top and diamonds and silver designs trailing all over it. It fell elegantly all the way to the floor. She slipped into it, pulling the strap onto her shoulder.

Before leaving, she added her jewelry: a necklace, a bracelet cuff, and earrings. She left her shoes out in the room with Tyler, so she headed out, holding her breath for his reaction. His jaw dropped to the floor when he saw his older sister standing there, looking like a goddess in her dusk colored dress.

"Jeez, why the hell didn't anyone ask you to prom?" he asked out loud.

She chuckled and pulled her shoes out of the box beside him. She didn't want to answer his question. She wasn't exactly a nice person when she wasn't home. She tended to be cold and distant, a little bitchy. She was a 'loner' with only a couple friends at her school.

In truth, any guy at their school would date her in a second; she just never gave them a chance. She didn't know why, they just never really did anything for her. She slipped her silver shoes on and checked her phone. There was a text from her best friend/ 'date', Lindsay, that said Lindsay would be there in five minutes.

"Alright, pause that," Elizabeth ordered Tyler, hands on her hips.

He did as she said, looking over at her calmly. He was used to this routine, so he wasn't bothered by the lecture his sister was about to give him.

"Keep your phone on you at all times. Drink plenty of water. You're meds are in the cabinet. Lock the doors and don't let anyone in. Jason and Selene should be home soon…did I forget anything?"

He rolled his eyes and grinned up at her.

"Stay inside," he suggested.

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Smart ass, that's obvious."

He sighed, suddenly looking very sad and much older than he was. She frowned; sitting on the bed beside him, facing the window that she suddenly noticed was open.

"What is it?" she asked gently.

"You're going to be an adult soon."

She gave him a questioning look.

"Liz, you turn eighteen the day after tomorrow," he told her.

Her frown stayed in place. She still didn't understand.

"You're out of high school, you're almost eighteen. Eighteen is when you become a legal adult."

She nodded.

"Yes, I know, Ty. What does that have to do with anything?"

"You're going to leave me!" he exclaimed getting off the bed.

Her frown deepened.

"Why would you ever think that?" she asked, mentally horrified.

"You're going to college. You're going to get a job. You'll leave me, here, all by myself."

She felt tears spring to her eyes as she shook her head vigorously, her curls bouncing around her face.

"No, Ty, I'm not. I'm going to the university here. I'm going to rent an apartment and try and get custody of you. If I can't, you can stay here and I'll see you every day. But I'm not going to leave you, even if I am grown up."

Elizabeth swore she heard a gasp then. Her head snapped to the window, eyes wide and alert. But Tyler forced her attention back to him.

"That's not fair, though! You're so smart; you deserve to go to a good college."

"The college here is good Tyler. Don't worry, I've thought this through."

"See! You're already turning into an adult."

She sighed.

"Someone has to be the grown up, Ty."

He shook his head, but gave her a tight hug anyway. He was only fourteen; he'd just started high school. Elizabeth wanted him to be a kid for as long as possible. Just because she'd had to grow up fast didn't mean he had to.

"I love you, 'Liza."

"I love you too, Tyles," she said, mussing his dirty blond hair.

Just then, the doorbell rang. She didn't kiss him on the cheek or anything like that, because she knew that it bothered him. Anyway, that was a motherly thing to do, and she was just his sister. Besides, the lipstick and gloss she used was highly colored and damn near impossible to get off because she had a habit of nibbling at her lips.

"Alright, I have to go. Get some rest, Tyler."

When she said his full name he knew she meant it. She stopped by the fridge on her way, getting Lindsay's corsage as she did. Yes, Lindsay suggested they buy each other corsages and yes, Elizabeth had agreed. When she opened the door, Lindsay stood there in all multi-neon-colored highlighted glory. Indeed, Elizabeth Stevens' best friend was a self-declared emo, and they were both proud of that.

Lindsay McAllistair was wearing a bright pink dress with a thin layer of black lace over the bodice. Her hair featured colors such as cotton candy blue, bubblegum pink, radioactive waste green and raspberry red. Her natural color was blonde-or maybe black, which was yet another color in her hair-but even still, she looked gorgeous.

"Eliza! You look amazing!" Lindsay cried, hugging onto Elizabeth immediately.

Lindsay was slight, with a thin, small body, but the girl was on the girls' wrestling team at their high school. She also did back alley cage matches for college money, something her parents did not know about, but Elizabeth did. She'd even gone to a couple of Lindsay's fights. The girl had some serious skills.

"You look incredible," Elizabeth replied and brandished her refrigerated flowers, "look, I got you black orchids."

Lindsay squealed with delight.

"That's perfect!" she cried and handed Elizabeth the corsage she'd bought.

It was a white rose with little light blue flowers around it. It was beautiful; Elizabeth had no idea where her friend could have gotten it from.

"Alright, come on, the limo is waiting," Lindsay said after their corsages were on their wrists.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement and called goodbye to Tyler. Then she shut the door and they went off to the limo. It was jet black, with black leather seats to match. The two girls laughed and chatted all the way to the hotel where their prom was being held.

"Oh wow, this is gorgeous," Elizabeth said as they went inside.

This wasn't some stupid prom in the gym, this was the real deal. The hotel that was hosting had a chandelier and a ballroom, with a DJ. There was a separate dining room, where everyone was piling in and taking seats for dinner and a drinks bar that wasn't serving anything alcoholic…as far as Elizabeth knew anyway.

"This is going to be amazing," Lindsay stated, grabbing her friend and yanking her into the dining room.

"It'd better be," Elizabeth grumbled.

If she'd done her makeup all nice and pretty for something stupid, lame, and cliché, there'd be hell to pay.

* * *

_Eighteen is when you become a legal adult._

_Eighteen…legal adult…_

_Eighteen…Adult…_

_Adult…_

Well that wouldn't do at all. Elizabeth couldn't grow up! He'd been a little behind schedule, but he hadn't thought he'd been late enough to come at the last minute. She hadn't even seen Neverland yet! All the Darling girls got to see Neverland.

First it was Wendy, of course, with her wonderful stories. That had just been the beginning. No one was ever like Wendy. Then there was her daughter, Jane, with more pride than Wendy, possibly even more than him. After that there had been Rose and Linda. Linda had never been any fun, but Rose…she'd been so kind, so much like Wendy. Not completely though, Rose had been a little too…demanding. She wanted to much commitment. But finally, there was Rose's daughter, Elizabeth.

Over time, with marriage and whatnot, the name 'Darling' had been lost, but she was still descended from Wendy. There must be something of her in Elizabeth. She'd certainly proven that she had that motherly instinct. But there was something different about her…something that was darker than the other Darling girls (or whatever their last name happened to be at the time).

Of course, to him, everything seemed a little darker now. He was darker now. He wanted to help her, take her away from this world, save her from being a grown up. None of the others, not even Wendy, with all her love of him, had stayed…but maybe Elizabeth would. Maybe she was different.

"All I have to do is get her to come with me…" he mumbled to himself.

That shouldn't be so hard. After all, it was in her blood to trust him, to go with him. All the others had, so why shouldn't she?

There was a high pitched ringing sound and a little ball of light flew into his face. Tink had become a little darker too. That green dress wasn't always that short, he knew.

"Stop it, Tink, we always bring them along," he said, pushing her aside so that he could watch.

All it would take was faith, trust, and pixie dust. Of course, that was always easier said than done.

* * *

"Shhhhh!"

The harsh sound ripped through the group and they all immediately silenced themselves.

"Cap'n', are you sure about this?" the first mate asked.

"Of course, you fool," the other man growled with his eyes focused solely on Elizabeth.

"Well…jus', the crew is a bit worried since this di'n't work the las' time we tried it."

The Captain snorted at this analysis. What did any of them know about plans, his plans? He wasn't planning to take Elizabeth to draw the boy out. He was planning to take her and draw him in…

"Jane was a fluke," he replied tersely, "and anyway, we would have had him if she hadn't been gone so noble."

The first mate was silent for a number of moments, reflecting on so many failed plans and so-called flukes.

"Well…" he mused at last, annoying the Captain from his watch, yet again, "this one _is_ American. I don' suppose we'll be havin' that same nobi'ity issue, then…"

The Captain rolled his eyes in the darkness.

"No," he said dryly, "I suppose not."

All he had to do was get her when she was all alone. That they would be on a straight course for the second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Shipping**

Prom was perfect, if there's such a thing. The night was filled with dancing, laughing, and strangely, friends Elizabeth never knew she had. She had a fantastic time, all the same. How had it all gone so wrong? This thought clouded her mind as Selene and Jason answered the police's questions.

After prom, Lindsay, Elizabeth, and some of their other friends, had all been invited to an after party at one of the other senior's mansion. Elizabeth had politely declined, saying that she had to get up early for something for college. In truth, she was tired. She just wanted to go home, deconstruct herself, pull on a pair of sweats, and crash out on the couch or her bed.

Her friends had given her a ride home on their way to the after party. As soon as she'd seen the police car lights, she'd known, she'd known. Her seatbelt was off and her door was open before the car had even come to a stop. She'd jumped out, running in four inch high platform stilettos to the fourth floor, where they lived. Apartment 124's door was wide open. Her apartment, the one she lived in with Tyler, Selene, and Jason.

She'd run down the hall, heart pounding. She stared at the scene before her. There were two police officers standing in front of Selene and Jason Shays. There were only two words that she could get past her stunned lips.

"What-happened?"

Each word was stated precisely, like its own sentence.

"Oh, Eliza," Selene started, but then trailed off.

She was tearstained and red faced. Her eyes were full of sincere sorrow. Elizabeth wondered why that was worse. Maybe, if Selene and Jason didn't care, she would have had something to feel other than what she was feeling now.

Jason had cleared his throat and come over to her. He'd put a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eyes, since her heels put them at the same height, and broke the news. Tyler was missing. There were no clues whatsoever. The police had gone over it with them-her specifically. There was no sign of a struggle, no signs of forced entry. There wasn't a note, or a drop of blood, or anything out of place. Her little brother was just…gone.

"Ms. Stevens?" one of the officers says, spooking Elizabeth from her thoughts.

She looked up at the sound of her name, vaguely recognizing the officer that greeted her after Jason explained what happened (or what _hadn't_ happened) to her brother.

"Is there anything you can tell us about your parents or your family that would give us an idea about who took your brother?"

She shook her head, staring at her corsage.

"No, I can't think of anyone that would just…" she choked for a second on her words, "_take _my brother."

The officer was quiet for a moment. She glanced up again, wondering what he was waiting for.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you and your brother," he said, "we'll do the best we can to get him back."

She couldn't open her mouth to respond so she just nodded, holding back tears. Elizabeth had never felt so defeated and empty. It was her job to protect her brother and in just the few hours she'd been gone, someone had just up and stolen her brother away. The pain cut so deep through her chest that it made it hard to breathe. She was both sad and empty at the same time, if that was possible.

The officers left, but she just sat at the dining room table, staring at space, trying to process this newest development. To anyone that merely glanced at her, she was a vision. But when they looked closer, the hopeless, miserable expression on her face could break someone's heart. She was like a shattered fantasy: beautiful, but broken.

"Eliza," Selene said, standing by her side, "you should get some rest."

Selene didn't touch Elizabeth, or even get into her direct line of sight. Elizabeth had just suddenly become so…distant.

"I need to take a walk," Elizabeth said finally, picking her head up to look Selene in the eye.

Selene averted her gaze to the floor and nodded.

"Okay. Just…be careful. Please."

Elizabeth nodded and stood, pulled on her black, high top All Stars. She couldn't decide whether she was tired or not. She felt empty, but that didn't necessarily equate to sleepy. She went all the way down to the first floor and just started to walk.

It was a little chilly out, the moon was half full. The street their apartment complex was on was somewhat dark except for a few low street lamps. Elizabeth sighed heavily when her dress caught on something. Swearing, because it was both unattractive and the icing on her craptastic day, she leaned over to disentangle herself from an overgrown branch from the hedge.

"You look like you could use a little help," someone said suddenly.

A little gasp escaped her that she hoped the newcomer hadn't heard. She'd thought she was alone out there. She had been twenty minutes ago…

"Oh, no," she said, her voice lilting slightly, "I've almost got it."

She flashed a gentle smile as she said it, hoping that it would cover the nervousness that shot through her. The man that was offering help was handsome alright. He had short, jet black hair, just slightly tussled. His eyes were a gorgeous shade of blue and she could have sworn the man was wearing guyliner, but it worked for him.

"You should be carefully out here," he said, stepping closer, "people aren't very safe."

She finally got her dress free and that's when Elizabeth was finally able to notice other things about the man. He had a seductive smooth voice with an English accent. He was wearing a black leather trench coat, dark pants, an open chest shirt and black leather boots. He looked like a really sexy, dark pirate.

"So I've heard," Elizabeth replied, considering him warily.

She slowly began backing away when someone grabbed her from behind and press a cloth of her nose and mouth. She just began to breathe in when the chemical smell registered and she stopped herself. She'd never experienced it before, but she knew that the person was trying to use chloroform. She refused to breathe it in and be knocked out.

Instead, she drew her arm back and slammed her elbow into her assailant's gut, eliciting a satisfying 'oof' sound. The man, because it most certainly was a man, released her. Just as the cloth was falling from her nose, the other man, the handsome one, jumped forward and pressed it to her mouth again.

She struggled, but she was already a little dizzy from the previous attempt and she ended up breathing in anyway. Even with all this: being kidnapped, maybe getting raped or tortured, she couldn't find it in herself to fight like this was her last breath. Don't think she was scared-she was absolutely terrified. The things they could do to her…

It was just the fact that compared to the way she'd felt upon seeing those police in the apartment with Tyler nowhere to be found, this was almost nothing. Hell, maybe these people were kidnapping her too, and they would take her to her brother.

As she began to breathe in, her eyes met the strange man's and held. Whatever his motivation for kidnapping her, she felt like she was just collateral damage. Funny…that's pretty much all she ever was.

The darkness came in, clouded her vision and she went limp.

* * *

Perhaps some of the best and most insightful advice James had ever been given was to watch someone when they thought they were alone. Their emotions showed as plainly on their face as if he was in their head with them. Everything they felt, all their emotions and thoughts were open for the world. Those moments could tell you a lot about a person.

But something James had come to admire about Elizabeth Stevens was that she was a very honest person. Perhaps a little too honest for some people, but not for James. He found it refreshing. It was rare that she hid her emotions, at least on purpose. There were other things, deep things that were subconsciously hidden that she didn't show on the surface.

That night, walking alone by that hedge, everything she felt and thought were obvious on her face. She'd been through much, for such a young girl. She'd endured hardships that would cripple the strongest of men. He couldn't pinpoint what they were, just yet, but it was all so familiar to him, that it plucked at something in his chest.

She was lonely, lost. Something shocking had obviously happened to her only a few minutes ago, before her moonlit stroll. She was ethereal in her beauty and sorrow, something else he appreciate. She was, incredibly, mature. Too mature for that silly boy to take back to Neverland. But the rules of Neverland had changed, and anyway, it wasn't as if adults couldn't return anyway. They always could…

In the last moments before the chloroform did its work, her pretty gray-blue eyes met his cerulean and he saw it then. She cared very little for her own well being, even though she was petrified. There were heavier things in her heart and mind. It was…strange. Wrong.

She didn't fight quite the same as Jane had, when they'd kidnapped her. But Jane had been asleep when they'd taken her, and Jane hadn't been…ideal. Elizabeth though, could certainly inflict pain, as was proven by the gagging first mate a few yards away. She was smart and strong at least. It was just the circumstances that had beaten her.

"Cap'n, did you get 'er?" he wheezed.

James rolled his eyes.

"Yes, now quickly, let's get back to the ship."

And there, in the sky, was a giant pirate ship. Something James had noticed about the people, no matter who they were, outside of Neverland: they never noticed what was right in front of them. It was pitiable.

James carried the girl all the way to the long lowered rope and took a tight hold of it. No need to lose his grip and kill both him and the girl. The crew pulled him up, followed by the first mate on another rope. It was awkward getting her on the deck and then getting up himself, but he managed it. In the moonlight, Elizabeth looked out of place, so smooth and soft compared to the hard, rough wood of the deck.

She didn't move as the crew gathered around her, sucking in collective breaths. She was, arguably, the prettiest of the Darling girls, thus far. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Elizabeth wasn't in a sleeping gown. She was in a pretty gray dress, with, for the first time, makeup.

James scooped her into his arms again and considered his crew gawking at the girl for a moment.

"Well? What are you all waiting for? Get back to work!" he barked and the men scattered back to their various tasks.

He started toward his quarters, calling for the first mate to open the cabin's door as he went. Inside his quarters, the first mate lit the lanterns while James took the girl to his bed, setting her down on the mattress carefully.

"Cap'n…?" the first mate began and James realized he'd been staring at her peaceful features for too long.

"What is it, Mr. Smee?" he asked, making his tone annoyed.

"Well…I was jus' wonderin'…"

"Were you now?" James asked, feeling his aggravation rising.

"I was jus' wonderin' wha' we plan on doing with 'er exactly?"

James rolled his eyes and swung around to face the idiotic first mate.

"Well I was planning on have a nice spot of tea so that we could discuss things," he replied sarcastically.

As always, it was lost on the foolish little man.

"Oh, then I'll put some tea on then," the man said.

"Not really, you idiot!" James cried tugging his fingers through his jet black hair.

James could feel a sharp headache beginning in his forehead, right over his left eyebrow.

"Just…start the tea anyway," he said weakly, waving a hand dismissively.

The first mate nodded silently and went about making the tea. James dropped heavily in the chair that sat before his charts. He shook his head slightly at all the plans written out before him. Failed ones, of course. He was trying to find the boy's hiding place again, but with Elizabeth's help, he could finally put a stop to all this.

* * *

Elizabeth woke with a sharp pain in her head, which was also a bit cloudy, as if it was full of cotton. She groaned, her memory blank for the moment. All she felt was confusion. She was quite obviously in someone else's bed, since hers was never this comfortable. Wondering if she'd maybe passed out in the back of someone's car, she rubbed her forehead, as if to dispel the fogginess.

"Sleep well?" someone chuckled quietly.

"Hmm?" she asked as she sat up.

The voice was vaguely familiar. Not Jason's, or Tyler's. Maybe it was one of her friends or classmates…

"I asked if you slept well," the person repeated.

"I-" she stopped as her memories came back in a tidal wave.

Elizabeth bolted upright, eyes alert, her entire body tense. Her head snapped to the side and her eyes landed immediately on the man that had, apparently, drugged her.

"Where am I?" she asked, jumping to her feet.

She wasn't prepared for the rocking of the ship, considering the fact that she didn't know she was on a ship just yet. That, coupled with her dizziness from the chloroform, made her fall forward, right into her handsome kidnapper. He caught her, holding her to him tightly.

"You're onboard my ship, my dear," he answered.

Pressed so close, she could feel his heart beat, slow and steady against her chest. Hers was hammering a fast and unsteady pace. Something coiled low in her belly and she swallowed it back, unfamiliar with the feeling. She wasn't sure what it was, but in that situation, it wasn't welcome. _Perhaps it's just nausea from the chloroform, _Elizabeth thought.

"Who are you?" she asked, voice quiet.

The man smiled then. His teeth were straight and white and the grin was so devilish, it sent a little shiver down her spine. There was a mischievous glint in his eye as he answered.

"I go by the name of Captain James Hook, and I would personally like to welcome you to Neverland, ."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Heights**

**(A/N: In this story, I prefer to think of Captain Hook as he's portrayed in Once Upon a Time by Colin O'Donoghue.)**

Elizabeth stood on deck, looking at Neverland with a frown on her pretty features. She'd been on the Jolly Roger for five days by then. The makeup had long since worn off-except, frustratingly, her eyeliner, which refused to even smudge-and she'd gotten her 'sea legs', as the Captain said. Considering they'd kidnapped her, they weren't necessarily very picky about where she went and what she did, so long as she stayed out of the way.

"Enjoying the view, Elizabeth?" the Captain said suddenly.

That's what she called him: the Captain. She didn't really know why, since she knew his actual name. It just seemed right to call him Captain.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked, her eyes trained on the island in front of her.

The clouds were low in the sky over Neverland's island, like they were too heavy to stay aloft. The sky itself was always an eerie shade of red or black, a dramatic backdrop to the island itself. There was a sort of thick comforter of fog that cascaded down from the mountains and snaked its way down to the water, stretching out as far as where the Jolly Roger was anchored and even further still. The water, from what could be seen, was a milky grayish color and unnaturally glass-like, reminding her of a foggy mirror. In fact, all of Neverland seemed to be cast in a sort of gray wash. Everything looked dull and deserted and sort of dead. She shivered at the thought of what the island itself must be like.

"It's dying," the Captain said, coming up beside her and resting his forearms against the wooden railing.

Her frown deepened and her eyebrows drew together as she looked between him and the island.

"What do you mean it's dying? I don't understand."

He looked away from her and out across the water, his expression pensive.

"The land, the magical properties: it's fading, slowly. The island is dying. I'm sorry you had to see it like this."

She looked down at the railing beneath her hands, sliding her palm across the weather worn surface.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked for the probably the hundredth time since he'd taken her.

He half smiled at her, but his thoughts were far off in a pit of darkness.

"All will be revealed in time."

She huffed out in annoyance. That was almost always his answer. Elizabeth wasn't very good at being patient when she really wanted (or needed) to know something. For example: why she was in a place called 'Neverland', and on a ship no less, when she lived nowhere near water.

"Okay how did I get here?" she asked, "there's no way this is _the_ Neverland from stories."

Her question seemed to bring him back and his usual cavalier grin was back as he looked down at her with his unnaturally bright eyes. It was sort of startling compared to the muted landscape around them.

"Magic, of course," he said as if it was a stupid question, "how else do you get a pirate ship to fly to a star?"

She snorted derisively.

"Stars are big flaming balls of gas that are trillions of miles away," she said matter-of-factly.

"Good thing we didn't sail into it then, eh?"

Elizabeth's head snapped to the side to look at his laughing blue eyes. That infectious smile was on his face again. She chuckled despite herself and shifted her weight to her other foot.

"Yeah, I guess so," she agreed with a slight shake of the head.

They lapsed into silence as her mind caught up with their conversation. Neverland was nothing like what she would expect, since this was apparently the real deal. The stories-at least what she'd gotten from her bastardized American/Disney accounts-said that Neverland was a beautiful and magical island in the middle of a gorgeous sparkling ocean. It was supposed to be HD level color with singing rainbows and a fine layer of fairy dust over every square inch of solid surface. What Elizabeth was looking at was certainly not what she pictured. Actually, thus far, nothing was as the stories went.

"So what exactly happened?" she asked and he raised an eyebrow in question.

"What do you mean?"

"In all the stories, you have one hand and replaced it with a hook…and you're way older."

And ugly. She didn't say that, but she certainly thought it. The Captain nodded, a little smile turning up the corners of his lips.

"Fairy dust is extremely powerful when you can convince the conceited little insects to share," he said.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Convince?" she scoffed.

The Captain grinned at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you really like me to elaborate?" he asked to which she quickly shook her head, a wry smile curling her lips.

"What else have you noticed is different?" the Captain asked finally, curiously.

She thought about it a moment.

"The crew…they're…kind of…gay…"

He burst out laughing.

"Half of them are!" he informed her and she couldn't help but laugh too.

It made sense. From what she'd seen thus far, there weren't many (or really _any) _women in Neverland. The crew probably had a lot of lonely nights…so what else is there to do but turn to homosexuality?

"There aren't any fairies," she observed next.

He nodded, sobering slightly.

"No, most of them went off into hiding. I have no idea _where_ their hiding place is, but I'm sure they're not much better off than the rest of us."

She considered this, humming lightly to herself.

"What about the crocodile?" she asked.

A little breeze ruffled their hair and his scent drifted to her. It was unexpectedly pleasant: briny, yes, but also cool and heady-kind of erotic when she breathed deeply. He grimaced slightly.

"I'm not afraid of it anymore, I scared it off. The damn thing has a taste for any flesh it can find now. I'm sure it would like nothing more than to devour me, but that won't be happening."

She hoisted herself up on the railing, considering him.

"You'll want to be careful," he said as he analyzed her form, lightly swinging her legs, facing him.

"Why's that, Captian?" she asked, her expression playful.

"That water is dangerous," he said.

"What, are there sharks or something? The crocodile isn't around, is it?" she questioned.

He shook his head, stepping closer.

"No, I mean the water, literally. It's heavier than regular water. It'll do everything in its power to drag you down to the depths."

She glanced over her shoulder at the murky water below her.

"You say it as if it's actually alive," she commented offhandedly, watching the water's surface.

"Perhaps it is," the Captain said ominously and Elizabeth shivered.

Noticing her somber mood, he stepped away from the railing and held a hand out to her.

She tipped her head sideways, question in her big blue-gray eyes.

"Just trust me," he said.

She chuckled at the irony, but took his hand anyway. He tugged her off the railing and led her down the deck, to a rope net.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, looking at the net skeptically.

"Climb it," he ordered.

"Yessir, Captain," she joked mockingly and started her way up the rope.

She was unsteady at first and slipped once, but the Captain grabbed her leg and replaced it on the rope.

"Watch your step, now," he said, "I'm behind you, but you should still be careful."

Elizabeth paid more attention to her feet after that.

"What are we doing, anyway?" she called down to him.

"You'll see," he shouted back, flicking her bare ankle. "Hurry up, now. No need to dally about."

She laughed and continued up. She finally reached the crow's nest and hauled herself up, leaning back against the hard wooden boards, taking in calming breaths. What had she just gotten herself into?

* * *

When James finally reached the crow's nest, only a moment after Elizabeth, he was confused by what he found. She was leaning back against the wooden boards that acted as a railing. Her head was in her hands and she was taking slow, deep breaths.

"Elizabeth? Elizabeth, what's wrong?" he asked, crawling to her.

"I forgot I'm afraid of heights," she said softly, in embarrassment.

He started laughing, unable to help himself.

"How can you forget that you're afraid of heights? You climbed all the way up here with any trouble," he inquired.

She scowled at him, hugging her knees.

"I didn't know it was so high until I got here!"

He laughed again and stood up, peering over the side of the half barrel that made up the crow's nest. It had been a very long time since he'd been that high up, but even still it didn't bother him.

"It's not that bad. I've been higher," he told her.

She grimaced.

"That doesn't help," she deadpanned.

James grinned down at her and held his hand out.

"Come on, then. I won't let anything happen to you."

She bit her lip before taking his hand, which he noticed was shaking slightly and he helped her up. Her face was pale and she leaned heavily against him as he brought her to the side of the crow's nest. He snaked an arm around her waist, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was quite obviously paying more attention to his face-his lips specifically-than anything else. Even the height they were at.

"Look," he said, wrenching his gaze from her and pointing out across the water and toward the island.

She followed his eyes, out onto the bay and sucked in a breath.

"It's gorgeous," she whispered in awe.

"You should have seen it before it began dying. You would have loved it."

A bit of wind picked up just then, pushing against their backs. Elizabeth grew uncomfortable, and they had to go back to the decks again. By then, the sun was beginning to set, throwing them all into a husky semi-darkness, heavy as a sheet.

"I'm going to get ready for bed," she said softly, looking at him from beneath her lashes, "goodnight Captain."

What she didn't know was that after she fell asleep, he usually slipped into the chart room to look over maps and, sometimes, briefly, to watch her sleep.

* * *

Elizabeth woke to something unnaturally bright shining in her eyes and a splitting headache. She groaned a profanity and put a hand to her head, wondering why it hurt so much. What could she have possibly done? It wasn't as if she had been drinking or anything.

The strangely bright light went away suddenly, casting her in darkness and she blinked to get her bearings. Where was she? Because the hard surface beneath her was definitely _not _the bed in the Captain's chart room. Sighing, she pushed herself to a sitting position and yawned, stretching.

Her eyes began adjusting to her surroundings. It was a small little space: four walls, a roof, what she believed to be a door. The floor was covered with a sort of tarp and there were blankets and pillows piled up in one corner. There was an opening, just to her right and she wondered where that led to. One thing was for certain though: she wasn't on the ship anymore. Probably not even with the Captain.

Sighing, she turned away from the door. There wasn't the steady rocking of the ship anymore, or the sound of ocean waves close by. It was faint, but she could hear it farther away. She concluded that she was on Neverland's main island, which was really, really unfortunate.

She considered her options. She had no idea who'd taken her, or how many of them there was. She knew nothing about the terrain or the wildlife that resided there. She wasn't sure exactly where she was or why and she was completely disoriented. Her best option? Wait for whoever had kidnapped her from her kidnappers to come back and bombard them with questions. After all, there were some pretty encouraging signs around her.

One, she wasn't tied up. Two, as far as she knew, this time she wasn't drugged. The headache was most likely from the hard ground. Three, they didn't leave her with a guard. There was a cup of fresh water by the pillow, so she drank it, happy to know that they weren't dehydrating her either. That was four comforting things to keep in mind while she waited.

She stood, her head almost, but not quite, touching the roof and arched her back, both hearing and feeling a satisfying succession of cracks and pops.

"Rose!" someone said from behind her.

She spun around, gray-blue eyes landing on a boy in brown skins and furs with a raccoon cap on his head.

"Huh?" she asked as the boy turned and stuck his head out of the opening that she guessed was the front door.

"Hey everyone, Rose's back!"

Four other people all piled into the small space, squishing Elizabeth into the back. They all kept crying and shrieking about this Wendy girl, confusing Elizabeth.

"Hey!" she cried over all of them and they immediately quieted down, "who's this Rose you're all going on about?"

They all burst out laughing.

"That's a good one, Rose!" one of them laughed, slapping his knee.

She frowned. These kids were younger than her-about the same age as Tyler. Were these the people that had kidnapped her? Or was it someone else that was just leading the little adolescents?

"I'm not Rose, whoever that is," she said, silencing them immediately, "my name's Elizabeth."

They all exchanged glances. Leave it to her to get kidnapped by unintelligent munchkins.

"What do you mean you're not Rose? Who's Elizabeth?" the first one asked.

Becoming exasperated, she pointed to herself.

"Me! I'm Elizabeth!"

"But that can't be true!" another chimed, "You look just like Rose! You must be her!"

"Maybe she's broken," someone else suggested, rather unhelpfully in Elizabeth's opinion. "She was with Hook so long; maybe he scrambled her head smarts."

"My what?" she asked confused, but they ignored her.

Just as she was really about to lose her 'head smarts', there was a dark shadow in the doorway and every last one of them turned to it.

"What are you idiots doing in here?! Get out! I didn't say you could come in here and harass our guest!"

She knew it immediately. This must be the leader-or at least one of them. He was most likely the one responsible for kidnapping her. His voice was deep and authoritative, though a little…strange…he had the slightest accent that she just couldn't place.

The little munchkins ran out at the older one's order, tripping and falling all over each other in their attempt to escape.

"Sorry about that, I never told them you were coming," he said.

Elizabeth took a step away as the mysterious figure advanced.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"Why, I'm Peter, of course!" the guy said proudly.

Elizabeth let out a huff of air.

"Of course."


End file.
